The outbreak of Tuberculosis in Papua New Guinea is worse than previously thought.  Children make up about a quarter of the documented cases.

The charity ChildFund says that if a child contracts the infection, it could create health consequences throughout the rest of the patient's life - especially if the disease infects the bones or the brain.  "In Western countries we tend to think that TB is largely gone or has been eradicated, but that's far from being the case in countries like PNG," said ChildFund Australia's chief executive Nigel Spence.  The disease has been fatal in about ten percent of the PNG children who caught it.

ChildFund's report says that PNG is seeing 529 cases of tuberculosis for every 100,000 people - one of the world's highest infection rates.  And even then, there may be even more hidden cases that haven't been detected yet.  "So the fact that it's having such prevalence and impact suggests there's not nearly enough being done to prevent it or get treatment," Mr. Spence said to the ABC.

Another problem facing the healthcare workers trying to put a lid on this disaster is that patients aren't completing the full six month treatment regimen for TB, leaving them open for the infection to return in an even worse form. 

ChildFund says PNG is suffering a critical shortage of health workers while its clinics are under-resourced.  There's also a general low awareness of the disease, which is impeding healthcare workers trying to warn people.